"We have one mission statement. We have a very short company motto. It's 'Brew the beer that you want to drink,'" Redner said, standing beside two massive steel tanks that are part of the brewing process.

His team whips up wonderful stuff -- craft beers that showcase delicate flavors, delicious freshness, and snippets of Tampa Bay history.

"We extended that love for the city into a lot of our brands. Bolita, Maduro, Jai Alai. These are all things that resonate with Tampa's past, so we definitely wanted to carry that Tampa flag," Redner said.

Cigar City's best-selling beer is Jai Alai, named for a traditional Latin sport. Next on the list is Maduro, named for a type of cigar wrapper.

The brewery's newest gold medal winner is Minaret, which gets its name from the towers atop the University of Tampa. And Redner's favorite label story is for a beer they've named Jose Marti.

Jose Marti was Cuba's George Washington and William Shakespeare -- all rolled into one. And he spent plenty of time walking the streets of Tampa.

"You have this little, tiny platform: that beer label. You can say something," Redner explained. "If someone has the beer and then goes and decides to look up who Jose Marti was, hey, win-win for me."